Research Contracts
Getting the Contract that Works for You
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Purpose
When partnering financially with a company for research, the contract is central to the relationship. This section intends to help you understand exactly your research context, keep control of your research, and avoid corporate control and gatekeeping over your research results.
The contract is the most essential aspect of these partnerships. You must know exactly the research context and agreement.
Negotiating
Be sure to know what parts are most negotiable as well. You don’t need to simply sign any offer presented to you.
Enter into these conversations with a clear and informed knowledge base of what is acceptable for you.
Leverage the contacts you know, including trusted research partners and your university research office.
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Reading the Contract
Make sure you have enough time to review the contract, and it is always best to have a lawyer review the terms and conditions.
Review every draft of the contract and identify any changes between all versions.
Ask Yourself
What control will I retain over the research and the data?
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Intellectual Property
You need to ensure that you retain control over your research.
This means, as much as possible, maintain control of the intellectual property and ownership of your research when contracting with big technology companies.
This could include ownership of the outputs, data, other research materials, and the analysis of your research.
Corporate Pressure
Corporate pressure regarding research outputs can create a tension between research integrity and corporate objectives, potentially limiting academic freedom. A well constructed contract could provide strong mitigating factors to protect your work.
Watch out for chilling effects throughout all stages of research cycle of inquiry as implemented through terms or clauses in the contract. Consider if others from the company present your research publicly on your behalf.
Avoid levers, a legal tool, that allows the company you are contracting with to focus on different aspects of the research which could risk you losing control over what research you will focus on.
Ask Yourself
Who retains publishing rights and distribution rights?
Publication of Outputs and Results
Don't assume the corporation has the automatic right to review work. Consider if you are willing to accept corporate review. Be sure to ask if corporate review is necessary.
A corporation may attempt to act as a gatekeeper to your research. To avoid this, pay attention to how long the corporation will be allowed to review your work.
Protect your work from long review cycles by setting clear and short review timelines. Ideally, complete editorial control is to remain with the researchers. Allow corporations to comment on drafts but have clear limits that you will not commit to incorporating these comments.
Consider the future use of your data – what will you allow?
Ask Yourself
What payment schedule do I desire and what will I accept?
Payment and Deliverables Schedules
Up front, agree on a clear schedule for where and how the money will be distributed. Avoid having too many conditions on acceptance of the research for payment.
Have it clearly stipulated in the contract what the outcome will be if deliverables are not met on time, particularly if the deliverable are detailed through no fault of your own.
Critically, money should not depend on any other factor than the deliverable of what was originally agreed upon. One way to avoid being put in a risky position where you are not going to be paid can be achieved by clearly stating what deliverables you will be providing and when.
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Key Financial Questions
From the outset, have a clear understanding of possible costs and who is responsible for those charges. Ask questions like:
What is being funded through corporate financing?
Are you being paid to attend meetings?
What about going to conferences?
If you are travelling for any of the work, who is paying?
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Co-Opted Research
One of the driving factors that needs to be considered is the risk of having research results and data co-opted by the very companies we investigate.
One of the driving factors that needs to be considered is the risk of having research results and data co-opted by the very companies we investigate.
Final Takeaways
Be very careful of who you partner with.
Establish a strong research contract from the beginning.
Understand your rights and responsibilities under that contract.
Protect both the data and the publishing rights to your work.
Consult a lawyer.
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